Tuscan GP : 9 key points
The inaugural Tuscan GP was complete madness with two red flags and eight car ending in DNF. Lewis Hamilton eventually crossed the chequered flag, followed by Valtteri Bottas and Alex Albon.
Here are the 9 key points of the Tuscan GP.
1. Two Red Flags in a single race.
If Monza was crazy the Mugello took it a notch above. This was only the third time in F1 history that we had two red flags in a single race. The first red flag was due to collision right at the start which led to Gasly and Max out of the race. There was debris all over the starting line and a red flag was needed to take the race cars out of the circuit and clear the debris.
The second red flag was triggered by a puncture in Lance Stroll’s car which sent him hurtling towards the barrier. His car had to be towed out and the barrier restored for the race to start again.
There was another safety car period too due to the collision between Antonio, Carlos, Nicholas, and Kevin. So effectively we had three race in a single session.
2. First podium for Albon.
A podium was Albon was long due. He missed out twice on his podium due to collision with Hamilton but this time things fell in place and Albon secured the third place.
3. Max out on the first lap.
The Red Bulls looked good in all the practice session and they occupied the second row of the grid. However even before the race started, Max’s car had issues. It seemed that the mechanics fixed the problem but apparently the issue persisted. Max got a good start but his car gave up as he tried to go full throttle. He kept running behind and eventually someone crashed into him, throwing him in the gravel pit from which he did not recover. Two consecutive DNF for the flying dutchman.
4. Points finish for both the Ferrari cars.
There was much fanfare around the 1000th race for Ferrari and deservedly so. Given the dire recent performance of Ferrari though everyone concerned about the embarrassment of performing disastrously at their own circuit.
Thankfully they were saved the blushes. Vettel lost his front wing at the start of the race but then drove cautiously to finish in 10th position, just in the points.
Charles had a great start from his 5th position and managed to be in the third position. However he just could not hold on to it, given the lack of power in the Ferrari engine. He kept slipping behind, went for multiple pit stops and eventually finished a respectable 7th.
Better than the double DNFs at Monza.
5. DNFs for all the podium holders of Monza.
The roller coaster journey for Gasly, Carlos, and Lance continued. They all could not finish the race after snatching a podium at Monza.
Monza’s race winner Gasly was taken out in the first lap itself. Carlos got caught in a botched start after the yellow flag. Lance was doing well but had a puncture late in the race which sent him crashing in the barriers.
6. No tattoo for Cyril, yet
Daniel Ricciardo looked in very good form. Renault was doing well at this circuit but Ocon had to DNF due to brake overheating issue. Daniel had a sublime drive and was 3rd for most of the race. But Albon’s Red Bull suddenly came alive in the last stint on the softs. He easily overtook Daniel to take the final podium position. Daniel finished 4th. He also won the ‘Driver of the day’.
7. Sergio, Lando and Daniil did well for their teams.
The midfield was heated and alive, as always. Racing Point, McLaren and Alpha Tauri all ahad their one driver taken out of the race. Their other drivers – Sergio, Lando and Daniil did well and earned the points, finishing in P5, P6 and P7 respectively.
8. George came close to getting points, but couldn’t.
With all the DNFs George Russell looked in a good position to get the points. He was in 9th position before the final stint after the red flag. Unfortunately his start didn’t go well and he finished P11, just outside the points.
9. Valtteri just couldn’t catch up with Lewis.
Valtteri had a great start, overtaking Lewis and being P1. However he lost his position after the first re-start and just couldn’t catch up with Lewis again. He had tyre issues too, apparently and was nowhere close to challenging Lewis despite so multiple re-starts to the race. Bottas was ahead of Lewis in all the practice sessions but Lewis pipped him when it mattered, in the qualifying session. Valtteri must be one frustrated Finn. He would be hoping to do well in the next race Sochi where he had much better results in the past.
Final Tuscan GP Race Classification :-
Video highlights of the incredible Tuscan GP.